Lucky are those who own their own yacht or boat! Especially when the season starts and, instead of planning a holiday, they can simply head out onto open water and relax to their heart’s content. All good things come to an end, though, which is why you need to think about how to protect your yacht or boat from theft – especially once the summer season is over. Check out our tips!
Where to store a yacht?
Yacht and boat owners usually use boat sheds, harbours or marinas. Some even lease a small plot of land where they can moor their yacht. The best solution – one that won’t keep a boat owner awake at night – is to store it in a harbour or marina that is guarded. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee complete protection for a valuable yacht, but it’s a solid part of it. Even so, you should never leave a boat unattended even in a place like this, and you also need to take care of additional security.
How to secure a boat at a marina?
After the season, when the boat is on land – in a boat shed or in the open – it also needs to be properly secured. First of all, lock all compartments carefully and moor it properly. You can also make it difficult to get on board.
Harbours and marinas are usually well guarded and fenced, and some are even equipped with alarm systems and have security staff on watch around the clock.
Alarm systems and CCTV deter thieves in harbours
Mooring a boat in a harbour with a watchman doesn’t guarantee 100% protection. It’s also worth investing in a decent alarm system and CCTV. After all, thieves don’t have to steal the whole boat – they can take a few valuable pieces of equipment.
An alarm system like this has sensors that detect when the boat’s interior is opened; it can even be wireless and run solely on an internal battery. These systems work with your phone, and the boat owner receives notifications about any unwanted events.
Cameras, in turn, work brilliantly as a deterrent – sometimes installing dummy cameras is enough to make thieves lose interest in a boat.
A tracker for your yacht
A GPS tracker that you can hide inside the boat is an excellent form of anti-theft protection. These devices are usually very hard to detect, and they’re effective at locating lost and stolen items. Even ones as big as a yacht!
Bear in mind that a thief can jam a GPS tracker with a special device, so it’s worth adding a second layer of protection with the notiOne go! PLUS Bluetooth tracker, which works via a network of partner apps. The Bluetooth tracker will help you find a stolen boat when it’s being transported by road past phones running partner apps. The moment a phone with the notiOne app or a partner app comes across the tracker, it picks up the tracker’s signal and immediately sends its position to the server, and the server sends it to the map on the phone of the notiOne go! PLUS owner. This way you can follow the entire transport route of the stolen vessel and easily track down the culprits.
Yacht insurance against theft
First and foremost, make sure your yacht is insured. This will help minimise your losses if it is stolen, involved in a collision or damaged by external factors. Boat insurance isn’t compulsory, but you’re better off not going out on the water without it!
On top of basic third-party liability insurance, you can also consider buying hull insurance (Yacht Casco), which relieves the party at fault of liability and covers the cost of any repairs after damaging someone else’s yacht or your own boat. Insurance will also come in handy if damage occurs while the boat is moored in the harbour.
How to winterise a yacht?
After the season, it’s best to clear the boat of all valuables, especially loose items that are easy to steal. Remember also to empty and flush the water and waste tanks.
The mainsail, jib and the rest of the sails need to be dried thoroughly before being stored for the winter and properly folded or rolled on a furler. If the yacht has a centreboard, it’s advisable to remove it. Remove the engine from the yacht and store it separately in the boat shed. Take down the rigging and stow it in a locker or the aft peak, so you don’t have to hunt for it in spring. Pay particular attention to maintaining the forestay, backstay and halyards, as these are lines that work under very high tension. It’s recommended to leave the cockpit lockers and cubbies open to allow air to circulate. It’s also worth checking the condition of the guard rails and ballast straps to ensure safety for the next season.
A yacht in winter storage should be set on trestles and covered with a tarpaulin, tensioned properly (like a tent) with the lines run under the hull.
How to protect a motorboat from theft?
The basis of motorboat security is a marine padlock made of high-quality hardened steel that is resistant to corrosion. This makes it harder to untie the mooring line and steal the boat. It’s also worth fitting a boat trailer lock – these have sophisticated mechanisms that aren’t easy to defeat with an ordinary lock pick.
Outboard motor locks are also a great idea, as outboard motors are a frequent target for thieves. They fit every type of engine.
When looking for the right ways to protect a boat from theft, it’s worth investing in each of the types listed above. It’s also very important to take out hull insurance (Yacht Casco), which will come in handy in unforeseen situations and protect the owner from huge financial losses.
Protecting a kayak from theft
One effective way to protect a kayak from theft is a special security cable made from a saw- and drill-resistant cable. You can use it to tie or fasten the kayak to a roof rack, a tree and many other objects. The whole thing is secured with a padlock.
A battery-powered tracker such as notiOne GPS or notiOne GPS PLUS is also a good addition to your kayak’s anti-theft protection – with it you can monitor the location of your kayak or pedal boat. The tracker’s battery can last up to 6 months! And if the device remains motionless for a long time, it switches to standby mode, in which it can work for up to 5 years, reporting in once a day.
How to protect a pedal boat from theft?
When you’ve finished using a pedal boat, you can put a cover over it, which will not only protect it from the weather, dust and dirt but also discourage thieves.
Once covered, it’s best to additionally secure the pedal boat with an anti-theft cable, which you can use to lock it to any object at the marina, and fit it with a notiOne GPS or notiOne GPS PLUS tracker, so you can always check the boat’s current position on the map in the app.
If you can, store your pedal boat in a garage after the season ends, having first washed and dried it thoroughly – this will extend its lifespan.
